2015 Sony World Photography Awards Youth Competition

Landscape photography comes into its own in the Youth Competition section of the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards. The young photographers shortlisted for the renowned photography award come from all over the world to tell the story of cityscapes and landscapes.


(c) Sepehr Razmju, Iran, Shortlist, Environment, Youth Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards

The Sony World Photography Awards always gives us a glimpse of the latest trends in the world of photography. The awards are split into various categories and the 2015 award has broken all the records with more than 170,000 photos from 171 countries; impressive figures that stress the growing importance of Paolo Schianchi, The image is an object in communication.


(c) Ivan Turukhano, Russia, Shortlist, Environment, Youth Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards


(c) Jacopo Sironi, Italy, Shortlist, Environment, Youth Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards

What really struck us this year is the Youth Competition, open to young photographers up to the age of 19. It was broken down into three categories: culture, environment and portraits. 


c) Alex Foden, UK, Shortlist, Environment, Youth Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards


(c) Fernando Henrique, Venezuela, Shortlist, Environment, Youth Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards

And in the environment category we found some photography work that goes far beyond mere press photography shots: some of these really tell stories about a territory, which despite - or perhaps because of - globalisation, increasingly depicts a person's roots.


(c) Yong Lin Tan, Malaysia, Shortlist, Environment, Youth Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards


(c) Yong Lin Tan, Malaysia, Shortlist, Environment, Youth Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards

Snapshots of cities with emblematic buildings, but also of less obvious worlds, like a suburban street or even photos that tell the story of a countryside with vast skies or patterns caused by human intervention. Images that dig right down deep into the context, which talk about places with such enthusiasm and warmth that may well be due to their young age, but that also proves that the allure of the landscape - natural or manmade as it may be, remains timeless.

(Christiane Bürklein)

Sony World Photography Awards 2015, http://worldphoto.org/competitions/sony-world-photography-awards-2015-open-competition
Photographies:  World Photography Organisation (WPO) - courtesy of 2015 Sony World Photography Awards - see captions